41 Percent of Ft. Lauderdale Home Sales Are Cash Transactions, Double the National Average

According to the Miami Association of Realtors, Broward County Florida (Greater Ft. Lauderdale MSA) luxury condominium sales and median prices for all properties increased in January 2019. Uncertainty over mortgage interest rates, the federal government shutdown and the stock market may have impacted Broward County total home sales in January.

"Broward luxury condo sales, which increased 48.6 percent in 2018, continued rising in January," said Broward-MIAMI President Jonathan Keith, a Fort Lauderdale broker. "There is strong pent-up demand for Broward luxury condos and for Broward real estate. Total Broward home sales decreased in January because of the rise in interest rates."

Total Home Sales Decrease in January Due in Part to Higher Interest Rates

Total Broward County sales decreased 10.7 percent year-over-year in January 2019, from 2,146 to 1,916. The decrease is mostly due to higher interest rates and lack of inventory in lower price points.

According to Freddie Mac, the average commitment rate for a 30-year, conventional, fixed-rate mortgage decreased to 4.46 percent in January from 4.64 percent in December. The average commitment rate for all of 2018 was 4.54 percent.

Broward single-family home sales decreased 9.9 percent, from 979 to 882. Condo sales decreased 11.4 percent, from 1,167 to 1,034. Broward County total home sales, median sale price, total dollar volume and luxury sales all increased year-over-year in 2018.

Total sales volume decreased 9.3 percent to $628.3 million in January 2019. Single-family home dollar volume decreased 10.1 percent from $443.6 million to $398.6 million. Condo dollar volume decreased 7.7 percent from $248.8 million to $229.7 million.

Lack of access to mortgage loans continues to inhibit further growth of the existing condominium market. Of the 9,307 condominium buildings in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, only 12 are approved for Federal Housing Administration loans, down from 29 last year, according to Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation and FHA.

Short sales and REOs accounted for 1.3 and 3.6 percent, respectively, of total Broward sales in January 2019. Short sale transactions decreased 22.6 percent year-over-year while REOs decreased 12.4 percent.

Nationally, distressed sales accounted for 4 percent of sales, down from 5 percent a year ago, according to NAR.

Broward Real Estate Selling Close to List Price

The median number of days between listing and contract dates for Broward single-family home sales was 63 days, a 28.6 percent increase from 49 days last year. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for single-family homes was 103 days, a 10.8 percent increase from 93 days.

The median time to contract for condos was 55 days, the same as last year. The median number of days between the listing date and closing date for condos was 94 days, a 3.1 percent decrease from 97 days.

The median percent of original list price received for single-family homes was 95 percent. The median percent of original list price received for existing condominiums was 94.3 percent.

Statewide closed sales of existing single-family homes totaled 15,526 last month, down 6.2 percent compared to January 2018, according to Florida Realtors. Looking at Florida's condo-townhouse market in January, statewide closed sales totaled 6,739, down 10.9 percent compared to a year ago.

The national median existing-home price for all housing types in January was $247,500, up 2.8 percent from January 2018 ($240,800). January's price increase marks the 83rd straight month of year-over-year gains.

In January, statewide median sales prices for both single-family homes and condo-townhouse properties increased year-over-year for the 85th month-in-a-row. The statewide median sales price for single-family existing homes was $249,900, up 4.1 percent from the previous year, according to Florida Realtors. Last month's statewide median price for condo-townhouse units was $182,500, up 2.8 percent over the year-ago figure.

Broward Cash Buyers Represent Almost Double the National Figure

Broward cash transactions comprised 40.9 percent of January 2019 total closed sales, compared to 41.9 percent last year. Broward cash transactions are almost double the national figure (23 percent).

Condominiums comprise a large portion of Broward's cash purchases as 56.8 percent of condo closings were made in cash in January compared to 22.3 percent of single-family home sales.

Months supply of inventory for single-family homes increased 23.1 percent to 4.8 months, which indicates a seller's market. Existing condominiums have a 6.2-month supply, which also indicates a seller's market. A balanced market between buyers and sellers offers between six and nine months of supply.

Although still in a seller's market, the increase is positive, as high demand and insufficient supply were resulting in a housing shortage and negatively impacting sales.

Total active listings at the end of January increased 13.9 percent year-over-year, from 13,168 to 14,997.

Inventory of single-family homes increased 21 percent in January from 5,091 active listings last year to 6,162 in January 2019. Condominium inventory increased 9.4 percent to 8,835 from 8,074 listings during the same period in 2018.

New listings of Broward single-family homes increased 4.6 percent to 2,100 from 2,007. New listings of condominiums increased 2 percent, from 2,561 to 2,612.

Nationally, total housing inventory at the end of January increased to 1.59 million, up from 1.53 million existing homes available for sale in December and represents an increase from 1.52 million a year ago. Unsold inventory is at a 3.9-month supply at the current sales pace, up from 3.7 months in December and from 3.4 months in January 2018.

According to the newly released 2018 Profile of International Home Buyers Report by the Miami Association of Realtors and the National Association of Realtors, foreign buyer activity in South Florida had a significant 23 percent spike in 2018.